Rangers have not been shy when it comes to signing players from other clubs’ youth ranks, either on loan deals or a permanent basus.
However, as tends to be the case with almost all clubs, not all transfers end up being particularly successful, either for the club, the player or both.
One example of Rangers taking a punt on a young player which didn’t end up being worthwhile for any parties involved is their 2019 deal for winger Brandon Barker.
Brought in from Manchester City’s U23 side that year in a deal worth a reported £300k, the Englishman made just 13 appearances across all competitions in his debut season at Ibrox, scoring just one goal and providing no assists for his team-mates.
The 2020/21 season saw the 25-year-old make another 13 appearances across all competitions, this time doubling his goal record from the previous year with two scored this time around, once again with no assists, before joining Oxford United on loan in the winter transfer window.
After scoring three goals and providing four assists in 19 League One games, the former Man City youth prospect returned to Ibrox. However, he had just one more outing in a Rangers shirt before being released by the club in January, ending his spell with the Gers with just three goals in 27 appearances.
Once dubbed an “unbelievable” player by former Ibrox team-mate Andy Halliday, Barker now finds himself with English Championship side Reading – who picked him up as a free agent in February – where he has since played just 13 minutes across two matches.
Rangers may not have needed to break the bank from a financial point of view in order to sign him, but with the benefit of hindsight, it now seems like they ended up pretty much wasting the £8.5k-per-week wages
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